Sacramento morning news: Pension costs, refugee healthcare, Kiley’s donors and more

Today’s busy news cycle includes stories about state pension costs, refugee healthcare cuts, budget battles, and environmental violations close to home.

Here’s a quick list of the top headlines this morning:

• Refugee healthcare cuts: Advocates rallied near the state Capitol Tuesday urging Gov. Gavin Newsom to drop a proposed budget cut that would strip Medi-Cal coverage from about 200,000 humanitarian immigrants. The cut would save roughly $1 billion a year as the state faces a multibillion-dollar deficit, according to the Department of Finance.

• Landfill fined: The U.S. EPA fined Sacramento County about $197,000 after Kiefer Landfill violated the Clean Air Act between Jan. 24 and Sept. 12, 2023, releasing excess hazardous pollutants including benzene, toluene, ethyl benzene and vinyl chloride. These hazardous pollutants can cause cancer and damage the nervous system and liver.

• Kiley’s GOP money: Rep. Kevin Kiley raised more than $497,000 in the first quarter of 2026, including $225,000 from Republican leadership political action committees, even after leaving the GOP to register as “No Party Preference.” His largest donation came from House Speaker Mike Johnson’s Grow the Majority PAC.

• State pension costs: California’s contribution rate for the largest category of state workers is expected to drop from 31% to 29% by fiscal year 2030-31, thanks to strong investment returns from the California Public Employees’ Retirement System. For other groups of state employees, like firefighters and peace officers, the contribution rate is expected to drop even more.